Liberals Want Something For Nothing

The one thing that distinguishes all political and social liberals is the desire to gain with no effort, to get something for nothing, or at least to get someone else to pay the bill. We came, mostly from Europe, and essentially overpowered the less developed aborigines we found on the land. Then our gentry set up a new kind of government designed to give ordinary citizens at least a small bit of control over everyone else. It seems to have worked pretty well up to now. By 1800 we had almost wiped out all of the Indians and most of the Buffalo. Our government supposedly prevented any one segment from going rogue. Instead, three elements looked over each others pile, and prevented any one of them from mischief. Unfortunately, there has been trouble ever since.

Forget the machinations of the early Presidential administrations. From George Washington forward we need to consider each of them to be tests of our written documents and our traditions. Until FDR. Old Frank had his hands full with the depression, unemployment, and World War II. They were strange challenges and forced strange countermeasures. Frank pushed the limits established by our founders. Down deep I think he wanted unquestioned power to recide in the Presidency. He felt that big government actions were necessary to control the American economy, put everyone to work, and (with our allies) bring the war to a close.

Roosevelt's impact changed our world. He used artificial government employment schemes to control the ravages of unemployment. He used advancing debt to pay the bills of industrialization and the costs of the war. He pressed to increase the powers of the executive over the judicial and congressional components of the government. Whether he was right or wrong is generally a dead issue now. What isn't a dead issue is the huge and long lasting impact of his three terms in office.

The idea that the citizen supported federal government must take on  responsibilities well outside of those limited by the Constitution. He was the one that instituted a new rationality for  dollar diplomacy, and promised that Americans would pay the bills of crack pot, brutal dictators in order to assure their support. It didn't work then and it doesn't work now.

to be continued